Zen and the Art of Mini-Marathons

From Phil: First One Step, Then Another

My wife came home the other day and announced that we were going to “run” in the Geist Half Marathon.  I was intentional about putting “run” in quotation marks.  It’s a euphemism for “walk,” and perhaps “stumble” would be a better word.

It's coming May 21!

It’s not that I’m opposed to the concept.  It’s a good one.  In the past, having a specific day out in the future has helped us get out of the house and exercise.  It gives us a goal to work toward and a timeline to help in our preparation.

So we have started to prepare.  Since we don’t have lots of expertise in the area of fitness training, we went straight to our iPhones hoping, “There’s an app for that!”  And, of course there was—actually about 20.  We used a less-than-scientific method to make our final choice.  We picked the one with the coolest logo and ended up with the Zenlabs Fitness app called “13.1,” which seems aptly named—pun intended.

This logo brought back memories of a book I read
in my college days.  Will this app help in other ways?
I'll get back to you on that one.

Interestingly enough, this app doesn’t start by requiring us to do much running.  The first day had lots of warm up and cool down time.  In between, we “walked briskly,” “jogged,” and “walked.”  In our case, the difference between the three was more about intent than action, but that’s a story for another time.

In the days to follow, the running portions will increase.  (I cheated and looked ahead.)  But we also have days where we “cross train.”  The app, apparently knowing that we might not have lots of experience in cross training, suggests swimming, yoga, or weights.  We’re not really sure yet what we will do on these days.  We do know we won’t try all three of these suggestions at once.  Instead, we may opt for simply walking—briskly or otherwise.

Inspirational or just grammatically horrendous?
You decide and let me know.

I recently discovered that our app even provides daily inspirational quotes.  Some are a bit questionable in the Inspiration Department.  I included today's as an example.  Zenlabs doesn't say who they are quoting, and in this case, that’s probably a good idea because I have no idea what it means or how it is inspirational in any way. 

On the whole, I do believe if we follow the advice of our app and more or less stick to the program, we will eventually run more, walk less, and be prepared on May 21 to successfully complete the Geist Half Marathon.  We have also joined with others who have agreed to run/walk with us in May.

I have no delusions about setting records or finishing anywhere close to the front of the pack.  But really, that’s not the point.  The point is to get exercise, have fun with others, and enjoy the journey.

Education is Not a Sprint

At this point, with good reason, you might be wondering where this week’s entry is going.  Hang in there with me.  I am getting there!

Let’s say that full implementation the HSE²¹ best-practice framework is our goal—which it is.  Getting there seems difficult at times, maybe even impossible.  It might feel similar to walking out the door and running a mini-marathon with no preparation.  The result is likely to be either a comedy or a tragedy. 

The better approach to running a half marathon and to HSE21 is to work into it one day at a time.  Set a HSE²¹ teaching and learning goal similar to setting a workout goal.  Where do you want to be by the end of this school year?  By next fall?  One year from now?  If you know that, you can start working toward the goal.  Some days walk, and some days run. Over time, do more running than walking.

You might not set any records along the way.  But really, that’s not the point.  The point is to keep getting better.  Keep moving forward.  Keep having fun with your colleagues and students, and continuing to learn and grow. 

Link to Register: http://geisthalf.com/

As a Teaching and Learning Team, we hope you also join the Geist event, especially since it does so much to support our students and improve our schools. 

More importantly, however, we encourage you to gather a team and support each other in our journey of continual improvement of teaching and learning in Hamilton Southeastern Schools.  HSE²¹ is best-practice instruction, and it also supports our students and improves our schools.

Have a great week, HSE.  Keep in mind that in education we are running a marathon and not a sprint.  Keep inspiring and being inspired.  Keep learning and growing, and keep moving forward one step at a time.

Your HSE Teaching and Learning Team

• Jan Combs, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning
• Stephanie Loane, Director of Elementary Education
• Tom Bell, Director of Special Education
• Jeff Harrison, Director of Educational Technology
• Phil Lederach, Director of Secondary Education

Respond to Phil: plederach@hse.k12.in.us

Did the title of this blog bring back memories for you old hippies (or new hippies)?  If not, try these quotes from Robert Pirsig that fit with today's topic:

Lots of memories....

• You look at where you are going and where you are, and it never makes sense, but you then look at where you’ve been and a pattern seems to emerge.
• The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and head and hands, and then to work outward from there.
• Sometimes it’s a little better to travel than to arrive.
• Is it hard? Not if you have the right attitudes.  It’s having the right attitudes that’s hard.